School bursar jailed for stealing £10,000 Comic Relief cash

A school finance officer who stole Comic Relief cash raised by pupils has been jailed for eight months.

Amanda Cauldwell paid off her debts and funded extravagant holidays in New York and Spain with more than £10,000 she siphoned from Lever Edge County Primary School in Bolton.

Cauldwell, 31, admitted 18 counts of theft at Bolton Crown Court.

Her offences including stealing £1,000 of Comic Relief funds that pupils had raised in a sponsored walk and other activities.

A member of staff handed the cash, along with the sponsor forms, to Cauldwell, who said she would bank it and send a cheque to the charity.

No payment was ever received.

She also took £681 contributed by parents towards school trips, pocketed a £175 deposit for a staff Christmas party and forged overtime forms to boost her income.

Cauldwell, of Ivanhoe Court, Bolton, who was sentenced yesterday, will be asked to repay the money stolen under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective Inspector Rick Armstrong, of Astley Bridge CID, said: "Cauldwell's selfish and heartless dishonesty has left a bitter taste at a school that is founded on a loving and caring attitude between staff, pupils and parents.

"To steal money from the school is bad enough, but to steal money raised by children is a low and heinous breach of trust."